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Carly Angel

IR 3-11AP #17
28 May 2019

A Look into Fast Fashion: The Effects, Causes, and How to Help

Introduction:
Fast fashion is, an approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing that

emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers. For labors

working in the textile factories it is a situation that puts their lives in danger every day. For brand

executives it is a quick way to make a lot of money no matter the social or environmental effects.

For social media influencers it is a way that they can get paid for simply posting a picture in a

brands clothing. But, for the average consumer it is a word that they have never heard before.

The current state of our fashion industry has turned into a vicious cycle of the mass production of

micro trends and then throwing away all the excess. One of the main reasons this has happened is

because of consumer buying behavior and lack of consumer awareness. Fast fashion is a major

environmental and social problem caused by consumer behavior world wide.

Forever21, Zara, and Top Shop are some of the biggest fast fashion retailers in the world.

They take trends from high end brands and social media sites, mass produce these clothes, and in

a couple of weeks when the trend is out, they repeat this process. In doing this they are creating

an exponential amount of waste. In a recent CNN article, they expose the fact that H&M has to

unload 4 billion dollars in unsold merchandise. But the reality of situations like this is that the

majority of this unsold merchandise goes into landfills. While this issue is somewhat prevalent in

the media, the average consumer has no idea what is going on, so the problem does not seem to

be getting better.
Negative Effects of Fast Fashion:

The cycle of fast fashion has created an industry that is more wasteful than anyone could

have ever imagined, and has devastating social effects on people working in the labor industry

and living in regions where this business dominates. While there has always been elements of

negative social and environmental effects in the fashion industry, fast fashion has made these

two factors so much more prevalent and a known danger to people. Since this is becoming more

of an issue there are now some people and companies that are trying to help with these problems.

Environmental Effects:

A lot of the negative effects on the environment come from all of the waste that is

generated by the producers and consumers. One of the main factors of fast fashion is a short life

span for each item of clothing. This is what leads to a lot of the waste from consumers. The

waste from producers comes from the fact that if their merchandise does not get sold in the time

that that trend is still in, then it will eventually get thrown out because no one is buying it. “​ ​4

billion lbs. of textile waste end up in landfills every year” (​Siegle​). To put this in perspective this

is the equivalent to the weight of 333,333 average sized Asian elephants or 50,000 semi trucks.

Because of this the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world second to

the coal industry and it accounts for 10% of the world's carbon footprint (Woodyard). This is not

something that the average person knows or would even think to speculate about. The large

carbon footprint comes from the fact that more than 120 million trees are cut down every year to

make clothes (Sumner). The environmental effects of the fashion industry apply to everyone in
the world and are caused by everyone in the world, since almost everyone we all almost all wears

clothes that are produced by these methods.

Social and Economic Effects:

Throughout the fashion industry there are many factories in which the conditions and

precautions taken to protect workers are not closely regulated. Over time there have been many

incidents of big brands, like Nike, that were found to be using sweatshop labor and paying their

workers next to nothing. Because of poor regulations there have been many travesties with in

these textile factories. One of the most recent and the most detrimental incidents occured in 2013

in Bangladesh. “On April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh, which was home to

several clothing factories, collapsed, killing over 1,100 people and injuring approximately 2,500.

Hundreds of the survivors were left with permanent disabilities. During the day before, cracks

had appeared throughout the building. Despite their apprehensions, workers were instructed to go

to work as normal” (Manganello pg 1). This incident shook the world, because it truly showed

that there is a big infrastructure problem with in the fashion industry and the safety of the billions

of people that work in these factories everyday. It also brought a lot of pressure in the companies

and brands who are employing these people because, companies are not holding corporate

responsibilities for what they are putting their workers through (Manganello pg 1). So many

people and families income is based solely off of the wages that they get from working in

factories so it is very important to give them the respect and salaries that they deserve. Fast

fashion has lead greatly to the degradation of factories and the condition in which workers are

forced to endure. “At the consumer culture at large, for participating in an endless cycle of new
fashion trends, subsequently putting pressure on garment workers to put their own safety at risk

in the name of supply and demand” (Manganello pg 2). The pace and volume of clothing being

produced has had to be increased to keep up with the ever changing industry.

Consumer Behavior:

In our society it is very common for people to buy clothing in large quantities and very

often, sometimes the same thing in multiple colors. One of the reasons this happens is because

there is a stigma about being seen in real life or social media in the same outfit more than once.

This consumer behavior is making the fast fashion problem worse because the demand for the

newest trends is so high. But, it is not all the consumers fault though, because brands are

intentionally using scare tactics to get consumers to buy more often. An example of a scare tactic

would be, making a promotional deal that make it seem like the items in stock are going to be out

of stores for ever very soon. These methods are successful because there is an overall lack of

awareness. Consumers, along with the media, are the one of main factors that is fueling the fast

fashion industry because they are unaware of all of the negative environmental and social effects,

so if they were more informed then they would be able to be a part of the solution instead of the

problem.

Common consumer behavior is practicing bad buying behaviors, like over buying, and

not disposing of clothes in the proper and most effective ways. “Fast fashion retailing is leading

consumers towards an increased rate purchasing and the trend to keep clothing for an

ever-shorter time with the resulting rise in clothing disposal.” (Bianchi, Constanza, and Grete pg

1). Social media has created a culture where you must have the newest trends but, being seen in
the same outfit is almost taboo (​Gilliland pg 3). So when someone is done wearing something

they will generally let it sit in their closet until they eventually throw it out. The life of a piece of

clothing after it is done being worn is called its post-life. “Post-waste is defined as any type of

garment that the owner no longer needs and decides to discard...The post-purchase component of

the clothing consumption process involves whether clothing is re-used, recycled, or simply

discarded or destroyed” (Bianchi, Constanza, and Grete pg 2). The post-life choice of the

consumer is a critical step in the fashion cycle. While consumers could chose to donate the

clothing they no longer want, generally they are throwing it away. This makes the cycle of fast

fashion keep going because now that they have gotten rid of their clothing they have to purchase

more.

Brand Manipulation and Scare Tactics:

While consumers are the ones making the decisions on what clothes they want to buy,

brands are using scare tactics to make consumers believe that what they want will not be

available for much longer, so they need to buy it sooner rather than later. Consumers are being

manipulated in a way, and they have no clue that it is happening. “This is unfair to the consumer

because they are unaware that they are being manipulated to buy more than they need” (Jung,

Sojin, and Byoungho Jin pg 2). Essentially, fast fashion brands know that they are encourage

consumers to buy more even though every time they do it is hurting the environment and is

putting more of a strain on the factory workers. Fast fashion retailers are known to create

extreme human-induced scarcity of clothing (Gupta, Gentry pg 1). A study done by Dr. Shipra

Gupta and Dr. James Gentry they looked into how these scare tactics keep these fast fashion
companies on the top of the game. “We conducted 21 face-to-face interviews with fast fashion

store. This study shows how brands are making it seem that there is a lot less of the merchandise

than they have. This will be very helpful in showing how fast fashion retailers are able to stay on

top of the industry and control consumers” (Gupta, Gentry pg 1). Information like that that was

collected in this study is critical when looking at consumer and brand behavior.

Consumer Awareness:

An overall lack of consumer awareness of the environmental and social effects of the

fashion industry and tactics used by retailers makes the cycle of over consumption and rising

waste a real problem. But, there are ways that consumers can be a part of the solution instead of

the problem. One-way consumers can change their behavior is by becoming educated on

consumption patterns and the use of scare tactics by brands. “Consumer education programs

should encourage apparel consumers to change their consumption patterns toward reducing

consumption volume and the amount of waste, which will make the shift from quantity to quality

as emphasized in slow fashion” (Jung, Sojin, and Byoungho Jin pg 3). Consumers are the ones

driving the fashion economy, so it is critical that they know the full story as to what is happening

throughout the entire industry. Another way for consumers to help is by trying to purchase less

frequently and from ethically sourced brands. This can only happen if they are educated first. A

overall shift to slow fashion brands and better purchasing habits may only occur if influencers

start to tp promote it and then it triggers a trend. There are many new brands coming out where

they will show you exactly where your clothes are coming from and where they are made. So, if

consumers are more aware of brands like this then they will be less likely to fall into the trap of
fast fashion (Childs). Consumer awareness is the first step because as we can see with the rise of

fast fashion people are very easily influenced and manipulated by what they see is popular and

trendy. So, if slow fashion becomes trendy by people who became educated, then it will take

people have better buying behaviors.

Data Collection:

In April of 2019 I gave a survey to 77 public high school students ages 14-18 at River

Hill High School in Clarksville, MD. The topic of this data collection is to see how teens feel

about fast fashion brands and if they feel loyal to these brands. There are 10 questions asked all

from a vetted survey. The answer choices for each question are strongly agree, agree, disagree,

strongly disagree, and I do not understand the question. The vetted survey that the questions

were taken from was: ​Choi, Tsan-Ming, et al. “Fast Fashion Brand Extensions: An Empirical

Study of Consumer Preferences.” ​Journal of Brand Management,​ vol. 17, no. 7, June 2010, pp.

472–87, doi:​10.1057/bm.2010.8​. The questions that were actually used can be seen by accessing

this link.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeO3LFMfHuSrnu6L0ZOg5_Dgyo_cO6btcFP2F44

gaeDu1v5wg/viewform?usp=sf_link

All of the respondents were 11th and 12th graders from River Hill High School. This is

not a huge demographic of people since the goal of this survey was to gage teens ages 14-18, but

only 16-18 year olds actually took the survey. There were no questions about age or gender and

this could have been beneficial when looking further into the responses.
An important part of the survey is that the term ‘fast fashion’ was not defined. This was

to keep any bias from the respondents mind while they were taking it. But, this also means that

some of the students did not understand the questions fully because the term ‘fast fashion’ was

used and they did not know what it meant. This was the reason for their being an answer of ‘I do

not understand the question’ available. A conclusion that could be drawn from the fact that a

small percentage of students chose this each time is that these students were truly unaware as to

what fast fashion is and unable to answer the question because of this.

The findings of the data do suggest that teens actually do know some of the truth and that

the quality of what these brands are producing is not always the best, and that they should not

purchase all of their clothes solely from these brands. This is seen in questions 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and

10. But, the next step would be to see if they chose some of these answers based off of personal

preference for certain brands or if they actually know what fast fashion is and the harmful

effects.

One of the most interesting disconnects in the data is the fact that in the question that asks

“​I am satisfied with most of the products’ quality that I have bought and used in fast fashion

brands.” over 59% of respondents say that they agree or strongly agree. But in the question that

asks “Most products I bought from a fast fashion brand can be used for long period of time.”

50% said disagree or strongly disagree and only 43% said agree or strongly agree. These

questions are asking very similar things, so it is interesting that they would have opposite results.

The conclusions that can be drawn from this survey are that this data suggest that teens

prefer to shop at brands like Forever21 and H&M, but they are not loyal to these brands. The

question of ‘how much do teens know about fast fashion’ can not be concluded from this survey.
Appendix

Solutions:

● How the Public's Eyes are Opening to Environmental and Social Effects

○ While fast fashion lead to a need for increase of production in clothing factories,

and this makes it easier for concerns to get passed by with in the hierarchy of the

factory, it has made outsiders take a closer look at the social and environmental

effects of the fashion industry. Because of the public's new found interest in

factories, there are some new practices that are making companies model their

supply chains to ensure worker safety. This is a very positive step towards

reversing some of the negative social effects that the fast fashion industry has

caused. Another thing that has greatly helped keep the supply chain honest and

keeping up the standards that it should be is the use of technology. Technology

allows the supply chain to stay connected and ensures so that every step of the

way the quality of the progress can be monitored. There are some sustainable

brands that are using these supply chain technologies too, but their main purpose

is to show the consumer exactly where their items are in processing. Since their

methods are already ethical it is not being used for others to keep tabs on them,

just so that the consumers can keep tabs on their items. A New Zealand brand,

Rapanui, has an interactive supply chain that can show you where your items are

always in the ordering process (Rapanui.com). The fast fashion industry, while it

seems like a good thing to consumers because they can always get what is
popular, is very taxing on our environment and puts factory workers in danger

every day.

● Sustainable Fashion

○ Sustainable fashion, ethically sourced clothing, or slow fashion, all represents a

part of the fashion industry where brands are making clothing in regulated

factories and are using ethically sourced materials. The average consumer is not

going to shop at brands like these though because the prices tend to be higher and

they have a reputation of not being that on trend. There are also other alternatives

like recycling clothing and donating that would be easier implemented into our

society and would have better short term results for issues like waste. But, this is

not as effective as slow fashion is at solving all of the issues that the fast fashion

industry has caused.

○ Slow fashion is a very important concept that needs to be introduced into our

society to help with the all of the effects of fast fashion. “Slow fashion is a new

concept, which we would like to see introduced as opposed to fast fashion proving

that it is possible to innovate in our production and consumption patterns, while

aiming for profit in a more balanced way and while respecting employees, society

and the environment. Slow fashion emphasizes quality and not quantity, while

also slowing down production and purchasing habits”( da Costa, Ana

Gonçalvespg 1). Slow fashion companies focus a lot on promoting the factories

that they produce their merchandise in. They do this to show the good conditions

that their works get to work in and the safe factories that they produce in. As was
stated earlier, ​ ​a sustainable clothing store called Rapa Nui will let consumers

track exactly where their items are at every stage of the production. They source

all of their clothes from organic cotton farms and they produce their merchandise

in factories that hold worker standards to a high level, they do not expose their

workers to any harmful chemicals. They also have a water conservation pact

where they use recirculated water in their factories and they power their factors

with renewable energy. (Rapinui.com). This is company is taking a step in the

right direction, so if a brand like this were to get traction their impact would be

extremely impactful to the entire fashion industry.

○ In theory, sustainable fashion companies should be able to get a lot of the same

exposure as fast fashion companies because social media is a huge advertising

platform for a lot of fashion companies. It is a platform where all brands are on

the same level. A company with a 1-million-dollar advertising budget or a small

sustainable company can both utilize social media to their advantage (Childs). But

the average consumer still views sustainable fashion brands as less than because it

does not always follow the fashion “norms”. The identity position of the

self-entrepreneurial consumer is problematic from a sustainable perspective as it

holds back collective norms and stable Sole’s et al. Construction of silence on

issues of sustainability 221 subjectivities (Zwick & Cayla pg 4). It is human

nature to want to fit in and be like everyone else and shopping at slow fashion

brands goes against this. If these brands were to utilize the powers that social

media holds over consumers it would level the playing field in the industry
between fast and slow fashion brands. A study done in Malaysia shows how

powerful social media can be in the sustainability effort. “This study makes 2

contributions: ( ​1​) we draw on the perspective of technology affordances to shed

light on both the enabling power and unintended consequences of social media in

the pursuit of environmental sustainability; and on that account, ( ​2​) we contribute

rich, empirically informed insights toward understanding the under researched

phenomenon of digitally enabled, community-driven environmental

sustainability.”( Tim, Yenni pg 4). Studies like this could be very influential in

helping slow fashion brands gain more awareness for their causes and overall

more attention for their brands.

● Recycling and Reusing

○ An alternative way that is a lot more accessible and better short-term fix that is

sustainable and will help with all of the environmental and social effects is by

recycling clothing instead of throwing them away and wearing second hand

clothing. While this is not a permanent fix for all of the problems that the fast

fashion industry has caused, it is a good start that can help a lot with minimizing

waste. ​ ​An option that has been around for a great deal time is donating clothing

and shopping at second hand stores. This is something easy for people to do

because if you were going to throw it out anyway you might as well give someone

else the option to own it. This can potentially reduce the tons of textile waste that

is put into landfills every year. a.​ H


​ undreds of millions of dollars of clothes get

donated every year (ABC news). There are also many new recycling programs
that are being created so that the clothes can be repurposed or exchanged with

other consumers. “New social awareness about textile waste has prompted

retailers to offer 'take-back' programs that allow consumer to return old clothes”(

Solér, Cecilia pg 3). H&M has a new take back program program which shows

that they are taking some initiative in trying to help with the environmental

concerns that they are causing. “Another new phenomenon is swapping. This

channel offers new possibilities for consumers to get rid of their clothes by

meeting with other consumers to exchange old garments” (Solér, Cecilia pg 3).

They are many new apps that allow consumers to swap clothing in safe ways.

This is very good because then these clothes are not just going to waste after they

have only been worn a couple of times.

Conclusion:

The fast fashion industry is a complicated collection of brands that are trying to be the

most successful and produce the most desirable clothes. But the measures that they are taking to

get to this point are not very ethical. The environment, the people working in the factories, and

consumers who are being manipulated into think that they have to buy more are all greatly

affected. But there are brands out there that are trying to help. By shopping local and ethically it

gives these big brands less momentum to keep up the cycle that they have created. This can only

truly be achieved when consumers realize that there are other options out there and that they

need to by buying more deliberately and sensibly. From evidence seen in the data collection the

best way to educate consumers on the fast fashion industry would be to target efforts towards
teens, since they are more receptive of new ideas. After hosting a consumer awareness seminar

for high schools there is evidence that teens are interested in this topic and want to learn more

about what they can do to make a positive impact on the fashion industry.
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Childs, Michelle. Phone Interview. 3 January 2018.

da Costa, Ana Gonçalves, et al. “Innovating in the Fashion Industry for a More Sustainable
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Entrepreneurship​, Jan. 2018, pp. 285–92.

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